At least when the British were the world's most important colonial superpower there was tea....and occasional genocide but it's impolite to mention that. Bloody Yanks can't make tea. Not a proper superpower with coffee and crap tea, sorry. It's the rules.

Besides coffee we also gave the world soft drinks (come for the high fructose corn syrup, stay for the ethylene glycol) and fast food...

...and freedom. †

--------------It's natural to be curious about our world, but the scientific method is just one theory about how to best understand it. †We live in a democracy, which means we should treat every theory equally. - Steven Colbert, I Am America (and So Can You!)

"As soon as at least two players, one from each side, are in physical contact together with the ball on the ground, a ruck has formed. This physical contact, or binding, is generally by locking shoulders while facing each other. Additional players may join the ruck, but must do so from behind the rearmost foot of the hindmost team mate in the ruck; this is often referred to as "coming through the gate".

Stop right there. I've heard quite enough.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of friendly homosexuality in rugby. It makes it more dangerous. I mean, you're afraid of physical damage, looking like a tit in public if you play badly, letting your team mates down AND buggery.

And our gay players look like this:

Ahhh Alfie. Good on him. I love that bloke (purely at a distance and in an entirely sexless way I assure you...possibly too rapidly), bloody good rugby player, gent off the pitch and dedicated athlete. A good lad. (BTW his name is Gareth Thomas but he's known as Alfie)

Be afraid. Be very afraid. We don't fuck about. Which is to say, of course, we do.

At least when the British were the world's most important colonial superpower there was tea....and occasional genocide but it's impolite to mention that. Bloody Yanks can't make tea. Not a proper superpower with coffee and crap tea, sorry. It's the rules.

Besides coffee we also gave the world soft drinks (come for the high fructose corn syrup, stay for the ethylene glycol) and fast food...

...and freedom. †:angry:

Listen ex Colonial Septic Tanks, you know I love you, we all know I am very fond of all things American. When I lived there I found the people pleasant and welcoming, if occasionally drunk and slightly afraid, but that might be my fault. I tend to encourage drunkenness and fear of being ruinated by drunkenness in others (when not on disappointingly well behaved health kicks like I am at the moment. It's pathetic, a grown man drinking water, fucking shameful).

However the rule stands, no proper tea no superpower. China and India agree and they are up and coming. Hell one of them owns all of us. Look at what happened to Russia, they might drink the stuff but it's bloody awful.

Luckily tea can be improved. I suggested starting out easily with a Ceylon or a Dargeeling. Do not go direct to Lapsang Souchon. It could cause unrest and civil disobedience.

2) Several months passed. You noticed you were divorced. Your oldest son turned 39; last you looked he was eight. The power went out. Your laptop batteries died. The discussion seemed to lag.

3) The fox got the goslings again. [ETA: Or was it the goose got the ducklings? Nature red in tooth and beak.]

4) In despair you hooked up with Lenny Flank some time after Louis ran him off. (sniff) (boo-hoo).

5) All of the above, in that order.

OK, nevermind. Why are you back?

Not to worry, Bill. †Hubby still luvs me...the kids are doing great....no ducklings or goslings to protect this spring, so we didnít have to chase off any foxes or herons. †A hookup w/Lenny? †<shudders>

Where did I go? †Well, nothing too interesting really.....just a culmination of several things. †I was pissed as hell because I lost all my comments from my blog when I changed to cocomments. †I had switched to see it would be easier to mute stalker clown boy with that application. But, in the process of changing over you lose all your old comments, though they are saved to your computer if you ever decided to switch back to blogger comments. †I decided I didnít care for cocomments, but before I made the switch back my freaking laptop died along with all my old comments.....was livid. †All those comments were really important to me because I referred back to them all the time. †

I was without a laptop for a while, and when I finally got a new one, my heart just wasnít in the debate anymore. †Iíd put in 5 years...had heard all the arguments and the bullshit, and basically there was nothing left to cover anymore. †It all boiled down to wash, rinse, repeat. †I figured it was a good time to move on. †

Although itís a certainty that Darwinism as we know it will bite the dust, there will always be some materialistic explanation put forth for origins just as there will always be an argument for design in one form or the other. †I guess I just eventually found the whole debate senseless in a way. †And, my Dad became ill, which meant several trips to Mayo, and he was much more important to me than this ridiculous debate. †I still like to read up on whatís going on from time to time, but I just lost the intense passion I had for the subject.

Why am I back? †Well, Rich rang, and I answered...lol. †Seriously, though, I just popped in to say hi.

I had switched to see it would be easier to mute stalker clown boy with that application.

EDIT: The fundie mindset encapsulated in a single sentence.

Don't address your critics, find a way to muzzle them.

Don't address the issues, claim that it's just two sides of the same argument.

Dehumanize your opponents with slurs "stalker clown boy" even if that is kinda against the religion you profess to be a member of "judge not...".

Ignore factual arguments like they were never made.

Claim that the evidence, whatever it is, supports your argument and where it does not you can call it a "fact" in scare quotes as if that changes anything.

Quote

Sorry, I guess I'm just not seeing where in the information you've provided anything that refutes my claim that we saw a huge advancement including the written word and massive amounts of architecture starting at around 7,000bc. †

You can rest peacefully knowing that your wiki links provide you with information to support the "fact" that humans have been talking and socializing for 100,000 years, I'm just saying that the evidence points to a massive explosion of human development at 7,000bc. †

Why so hateful towards me? †I'm not lying about anything, I'm just providing my understanding and viewpoint on these topics. †I'm not a teacher, so you can relax as I won't have any influence on poor innocent kids who ask questions that evolutionists can't answer.

Oh, btw, I'm not a buddy "boy". †I'm a *girl*. †You can refer to me as buddy *girl* if you like.

A a massive explosion of human development at 7,000bc somehow indicates "design"? Somehow proves that your god actually exists?

Yeah, whatever. Ever thought about why that might have been the case? Or why your god chose to wait hundreds of thousands of years before doing whatever it was you think it did in 7,000bc? I guess that level of joined up thinking is not something you practised 3 years ago and it's clearly not something you practice now.

EDIT EDIT: Was this "explosion" before or after the fludde FTK? Pah.

--------------I also mentioned that He'd have to give me a thorough explanation as to *why* I must "eat human babies".FTK

if there are even critical flaws in Gaugerís work, the evo mat narrative cannot standGordon Mullings

Although itís a certainty that Darwinism as we know it will bite the dust, there will always be some materialistic explanation put forth for origins just as there will always be an argument for design in one form or the other. †I guess I just eventually found the whole debate senseless in a way. †

That part is always so cute! †Pray harder, wingnut; it ain't happening.

--------------I've found my personality to be an effective form of birth control.

Iíd put in 5 years...had heard all the arguments and the bullshit, and basically there was nothing left to cover anymore. It all boiled down to wash, rinse, repeat. I figured it was a good time to move on.

I've never really figured out how people like this can be functional members of society. Can they really not see that the washing, rinsing, and repeating is done completely on one side?

FTK, as the world marches on and actual scientists, explorers, and even the merely curious discover things the arguments always change. Always.

Real work is done when new data comes in: bones, geologic data, DNA sequencing, etc. The arguments are always new.

It's the response from creationists that is always the same. There are no new ideas, just the same reactions to an ever-changing set of data. It would look better if you changed the arguments to fit your "new problems" as they came up.

You haven't learned a thing. You haven't even tried and that's the sad part--you never even wanted to try.

Although itís a certainty that Darwinism as we know it will bite the dust, there will always be some materialistic explanation put forth for origins just as there will always be an argument for design in one form or the other. †I guess I just eventually found the whole debate senseless in a way. †

That part is always so cute! †Pray harder, wingnut; it ain't happening.

Well, actually, since it is science we are talking about, that's not much of a prediction at all. "Darwinism" as Darwin knew it is history; we know a lot more about it than Darwin did. All scientific theories change over time; some are (gasp) even overturned! This helps us distinguish them from idiot notions like creationism.

But I doubt that FtK is savvy enough to have figured this out. She probably still buys the Dembskian notion that "Darwinism" will be dead in ten years or whatever. Interesting that she didn't bother to add a time frame to her "prediction".

--------------Flesh of the sky, child of the sky, the mindHas been obligated from the beginningTo create an ordered universeAs the only possible proof of its own inheritance. † † † † † † † † † † † † - Pattiann Rogers

A child of the culture wars, I knew what abortion was before I knew where babies came from. I grew up scribbling words like "debatable" and "unlikely" in the margins of biology textbooks, fearlessly defending a 6,000-year-old-earth against atheists I only knew in my imagination.

and

Quote

The bad news for the Religious Right is that young evangelicals are tired of the culture wars. The good news for everyone else is that we're ready to make peace.

Maybe there's still hope for the kids.

--------------Flesh of the sky, child of the sky, the mindHas been obligated from the beginningTo create an ordered universeAs the only possible proof of its own inheritance. † † † † † † † † † † † † - Pattiann Rogers

...Although itís a certainty that Darwinism as we know it will bite the dust, there will always be some materialistic explanation put forth for origins just as there will always be an argument for design in one form or the other. †I guess I just eventually found the whole debate senseless in a way... †

Over 150 years with the evidence constantly growing and you predict its death. Just what is the evidence against evolution FTK? I agree that the debate is senseless, probably for different reasons though.

Iíd put in 5 years...had heard all the arguments and the bullshit, and basically there was nothing left to cover anymore. †It all boiled down to wash, rinse, repeat. †I figured it was a good time to move on.

Sounds like personal growth to me.

--------------Myth: Something that never was true, and always will be.

"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."- David Foster Wallace

"Here‚Äôs a clue. Snarky banalities are not a substitute for saying something intelligent. Write that down."- Barry Arrington

Iíd put in 5 years...had heard all the arguments and the bullshit, and basically there was nothing left to cover anymore. †It all boiled down to wash, rinse, repeat. †I figured it was a good time to move on.

Sounds like personal growth to me.

Only if you are defining personal growth as "not learning a single thing, maintaining one's original nonsensical position in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence (however presented) and simply reasserting that position, in as whiny and persecution complex ridden manner as possible, ad nauseum".

In that case, I'd agree with you.

If you mean "learning that (internet) arguments are generally a waste of time unless you actually engage with them", I'm sorry, I can train a liver fluke to learn that....granted it's taken me a few years, but I've never claimed to be smarter than a liver fluke.